Following spectacular smaller winner announcements, the Sony World Photography Awards has announced its overall prizes. Australian photographer Adam Ferguson took the prestigious Photographer of the Year title with series of self-portraits of migrants waiting to cross the border into the United States.
The professional Photographer of the Year prize went to a series by Ferguson called Migrantes. The unique series involved Ferguson traveling to Mexico in early 2021 to chronicle the stories of migrants waiting in shelters at the US border.
Ferguson attempted to make the images a collaborative work, giving the subjects of each photograph control over the release shutter. Ferguson set the scene, mounted a camera on a tripod and gave the subjects a cable with the release for the shutter. This allowed the migrants to have agency in how they were represented.
“This set of portraits speaks volumes about how moral intentionality and respect can help avoid some of that sense of manipulation and invasion of the private which photography is often accused of,” explained Mike Trow, chair of the Professional competition judging panel. “By giving his subjects the shutter release Adam hands a certain power to the sitter to make that decision on how to be perceived. These photographs are beautiful, meaningful and kind.”
UK photographer Scott Wilson won the top prize for Open Photographer of the Year, the competition’s top single image award. Wilson’s spectacular shot of a wild mustang taken in northwestern Colorado is titled "Anger Management."
“Viewing mustang behavior in the wild is a raw and dynamic wildlife experience,” said Wilson. “The image tension is symbolic of the conservation challenges facing wild horses in the American West, where these treasured animals are being rounded up in record numbers and removed from public lands.”
These top prizes follow earlier announcements revealing the top national winners and individual category winners. The winners cap off a strong showing for one of the world’s biggest and most influential photography contests.
Take a look through our gallery at more overall winners alongside other handpicked highlights from this year’s sensational contest.
Source: World Photography Organization